The Florida Commission on Ethics has dismissed a complaint
filed against state Sen. Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, that accused him of using a publicly funded
newsletter to help promote his wife’s bid to replace him in the Legislature.

At the time, Siplin’s wife Victoria, a political novice, was running to replace him
on the Senate since he was barred by term limits from running again. She was
beaten in the primary by state Rep. Geraldine Thompson, another Orlando
Democrat.

The complaint filed in August by Democratic activist Mary
Ritter alleged that a newsletter from Siplin's Senate office mentioned and pictured
Victoria several times and was sent to
homes outside of Gary Siplin's current district but within the boundary lines
of the redraw seat that his wife was seeking.

Without weighing in on the facts of the case, the Ethics
Commission ruled last month that the allegations were legally insufficient and
therefore dismissed the complaint.

Siplin didn’t announce that he had been vindicated until
today. In the process, he attempted to tie Ritter’s complaint to Thompson’s
campaign. He said that Ritter is an employee of Susannah Randolph, wife of state Rep. Scott
Randolph, a fellow Orlando Democrat and chair of the Orange County Democratic
Executive Committee.

Randolph supports Thompson’s Senate campaign, Gary Siplin
said. Then he took it a step further, accusing Randolph of favoring one
Democratic candidate over another in the primary and suggesting that he step
down from his county leadership post.

“I’m just thankful that the Ethics Committee saw through the
Randolph’s political antics,” Siplin said in his news release. “I just wish our
Democratic Party Leaders would not favor one candidate over another during a
primary. Perhaps Scott Randolph should
resign as Chair of the local Democratic Party for his partisanship during the
primary election.”